Ingredients for a Miracle

Need a miracle? God produced a bunch of them in the Bible, from the Old Testament to the New Testament. But what were the ingredients for some of the miracles that deeply affected individual lives? It was something they had that they gave.

God can use anything we have to produce a miracle, no matter how small or inconsequential it seems. All we have to do is recognize we have something and be obedient to give it to Him.

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The Disciples

Consider the little boy with five loaves and two fish.1 This was not so much a miracle for the little boy or all the people, although it probably did leave a lasting impression on everyone present.

This miracle was a demonstration to teach the disciples how God provides. He worked with what little they had to produce an abundance.

He could have produced food out of thin air. Instead He worked with what the disciples gave Him— a little boys’ lunch. The miracle happened with the disciples’ obedience to begin passing out the food Jesus had prayed over.

The disciples were part of the miracle as they continued to pass the food through the crowd watching as the baskets never ran empty. As a matter of fact, there was food left over.

The Widow

It’s similar to the widow who fed Elijah the last of her food. She had just enough food for her and her son and then she felt they would die. Instead Elijah, the prophet of God, told her to first make him a small loaf because God had told him the jar of flour and jug of oil won’t run dry until the drought ended.2

She obeyed and sure enough, the flour and oil never ran dry and she and her family had enough to eat until the rains came again.

God worked with what little she had! Our little in God’s hands will solve our problems.

My Lesson

This was true in my life, but I was pretty hard-headed when it came to learning the lesson.

In 1977 ,I was reading in Matthew 17:20 where Jesus tells the disciples: “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

I said to God, “I have just a little faith. How can I move this mountain of weight off my body.” Then I probably had close to 50 pounds to lose. I felt He said, “Stop eating sugar, stop eating so much bread, start eating more meats, fruits and vegetables.”

In this case I gave Him what I had—a little faith. And he gave me a plan. I know now I had no faith, at least not for that plan at that time.

More Lessons

Fast forward to 1999 when a cardiac surgeon told me I had five years to live unless I lost 100 pounds and kept it off. This was once again a time when God lead me to review what I had. I had a desire to live and a great love for my children and spouse.

God used that experience to start me on my journey, but it would be until many years later I actually hit upon what I really needed to understand to work with God to move my mountain.

I knew the one thing I had that couldn’t be taken away from me was my God-given ability to write. By this time, even that ability seemed to be covered in hundreds of pounds disobedience—250 pounds to be exact.

My story is long and involved, but the crux of it is this, when I tapped into the little God had given me, He morphed it into the great desire to do whatever it would take to become healthy so that I could have the stamina, energy and clarity to write a book that mattered.

My Miracle

By giving Him my little ability of writing, He helped me lose over 250 pounds and write four books and two study guides.

More than that, God showed me the greater scope of what He called me to do. I am help others escape the bondage of sugar and food addiction.

For over three years I have been coaching with two different groups. This year God led me to begin Overecomers Community, an extremely low-priced coaching group with over 160 of my teaching videos available to those in the group.

It sort of felt like I was taking every egg I ever had and placing it in this one basket. If I wasn’t convinced this was what God wanted me to do, I would not have done it.

To take a group worth at least $127/month and reduce it by $100/month to $27/month is crazy. But then who can figure out our God?

He’s The Same God!

He’s the same God who used five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd of at least 10,000 counting all the women and children.

He’s the same God who used the widow’s last bit of flour and oil to feed her, her son and Elijah and from then on and the oil and flour NEVER ran out until new crops could grow.

He’s the same God who helped me lose over 250 pounds when I identified the only thing I thought I had. Then, because He saw me not as I was, but what I could become He gave me the strength to be an Overcomer.

Each day as I rely on Him, He helps me overcome the pull of comfort foods, especially those which contain sugar and flour. As long as I rely on Him, as long as I give Him the praise for my ability to overcome, I will succeed. It’s possible only with His strength.

In Overcomers Community I talk more about this with weekly videos, a monthly Q&A video and a monthly live Video call.

P.S. Just so you know the price of joining the community will probably be going up in March. This is your time to get into the group. Whatever price you join with, it will never go up as long as you stay in the group.

P.S.S. New as of this week, easier pay portal, more direct access to the Overcomers Dashboard and new instruction video. We’re working to make this community easier for you to join and become a part of.

Teresa Shields Parker is a Christian weight loss author, coach and speaker, who has lost more than 260 pounds. Her book, "Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God's Favor", is the number 1 Christian Weight Loss Memoir on Amazon. She has three more books, "Sweet Freedom: Losing Weight and Keeping It Off With God's Help", "Sweet Change: True Stories of Transformation" and "Sweet Hunger: Developing An Appetite for God." Sweet Grace and Sweet Freedom study guides are available as well. All books are on Amazon. Her Coaching Programs can be found under the Weight Loss tab at TeresaShieldsParker.com. To book Teresa for your next event, check the Speaking Tab.